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Oscars 2015: 'Birdman' Soars on Hollywood's Biggest Night

"Birdman" won big, taking both the major awards for best director and best picture.
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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences held the 87th Academy Awards at a (long) ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday night. How'd your Oscar pool do?

"Birdman" won big, taking both the major awards for best director and best picture. But the Michael Keaton film tied with another quirky production, "The Grand Budapest Hotel," at the top of the winner’s list with four statuettes.

The ceremony, hosted by Tony Award veteran Neil Patrick Harris, was heavy on song-and-dance to near-Grammy levels, perhaps headlined by Lady Gaga lavishly performing "The Hills are Alive" from "The Sound of Music" with Julie Andrews looking on.

The awards were spread around. All eight of the best picture contenders won awards, including Eddie Redmayne for best actor for his technically nuanced performance as Stephen Hawking in "The Theory of Everything."

"Please know this that I am fully aware that I am a lucky, lucky man," said Redmayne. "This belongs to all of the people around the world battling ALS."

All of Sunday's acting winners were first-timers, including best actress winner Julianne Moore, who won for her performance as an academic with early-onset Alzheimer's in "Still Alice."

"I read an article that said that winning an Oscar could lead to living five years longer," said Moore. "If that's true, I'd really like to thank the Academy because my husband is younger than me."

Wes Anderson's "The Grand Budapest Hotel" was honored for its intricate costumes, production design, and score; "Whiplash" for its pulsating pacing and J.K. Simmons' drill-sergeant jazz instructor; "Boyhood" for Patricia Arquette's moving mother; "American Sniper" for its war film sound editing; "The Imitation Game" for adapted screenplay; and "Selma" for Common and John Legend's best song.

Harris gave the Academy Awards a cheery tone that sought to celebrate Hollywood, while also slyly parodying it. "Tonight we honor Hollywood's best and whitest — I mean brightest," he opened the night, alluding to the much-discussed lack of diversity in this year's all-white acting nominees.

Check out full Oscar coverage at TODAY.com.

Here's the list of all of the nominees in the leading categories, with the winners in *bold:

Best Picture

"American Sniper"

*"Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)"

"Boyhood"

"The Grand Budapest Hotel"

"The Imitation Game"

"Selma"

"The Theory of Everything"

"Whiplash"

Best Actor

Steve Carell, "Foxcatcher"

Bradley Cooper, "American Sniper"

Benedict Cumberbatch, "The Imitation Game"

Michael Keaton, "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)"

*Eddie Redmayne, "The Theory of Everything"

Best Actress

Marion Cotillard, "Two Days, One Night"

Felicity Jones, "The Theory of Everything"

*Julianne Moore, "Still Alice"

Rosamund Pike, "Gone Girl"

Reese Witherspoon, "Wild"

Best Director

*Alejandro G. Inarritu, "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)"

Richard Linklater, "Boyhood"

Bennett Miller, "Foxcatcher"

Wes Anderson, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"

Morten Tyldum, "The Imitation Game"

Best Supporting Actor

Robert Duvall, "The Judge"

Ethan Hawke, "Boyhood"

Edward Norton, "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)"

Mark Ruffalo, "Foxcatcher"

*J.K. Simmons, "Whiplash"

Best Supporting Actress

*Patricia Arquette, "Boyhood"

Laura Dern, "Wild"

Keira Knightley, "The Imitation Game"

Emma Stone, "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)"

Meryl Streep, "Into The Woods"

Best Adapted Screenplay

Jason Hall, "American Sniper"

*Graham Moore, "The Imitation Game"

Paul Thomas Anderson, "Inherent Vice"

Anthony McCarten, "The Theory of Everything"

Damien Chazelle, "Whiplash"

Best Original Screenplay

*Alejandro G. Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris Jr., and Armando Bo, "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)"

Richard Linklater, "Boyhood"

E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman, "Foxcatcher"

Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"

Dan Gilroy, "Nightcrawler"

Best Foreign Language Film

*"Ida" (Poland)

"Leviathan" (Russia)

"Tangerines" (Estonia)

"Timbuktu" (Mauritania)

"Wild Tales" (Argentina)

Best Animated Feature Film

*"Big Hero 6"

"The Boxtrolls"

"How to Train Your Dragon 2"

"Song of the Sea"

"The Tale of the Princess Kaguya"

Best Documentary Feature

*"CitizenFour"

"Finding Vivian Maier"

"Last Days in Vietnam"

"The Salt of the Earth"

"Virunga"

Best Original Song

"Everything is Awesome," from "The Lego Movie"

*"Glory," from "Selma"

"Grateful," from "Beyond the Lights"

"I'm Not Gonna Miss You," from "Glen Campbell ... I'll Be Me"

"Lost Stars," from "Begin Again"

Best Original Score

*Alexandre Desplat, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"

Alexandre Desplat, "The Imitation Game"

Hans Zimmer, "Interstellar"

Gary Yershon, "Mr. Turner"

Johann Johannsson, "The Theory of Everything"

Best Costume Design

*Milena Canonero, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"

Mark Bridges, "Inherent Vice"

Colleen Atwood, "Into The Woods"

Anna B. Sheppard and Jane Clive, "Maleficent"

Jacqueline Durran, "Mr. Turner"

Best Cinematography

*Emmanuel Lubezki, "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)"

Robert Yeoman, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"

Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski, "Ida"

Dick Pope, "Mr. Turner"

Roger Deakins, "Unbroken"

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Bill Corso and Dennis Liddiard, "Foxcatcher"

*Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"

Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou and David White, "Guardians of the Galaxy"

Best Visual Effects

"Captain America: The Winter Soldier"

"Dawn of the Planet of the Apes"

"Guardians of the Galaxy"

*"Interstellar"

"X-Men: Days of Future Past"

— NBC News Staff and Wires